Whenever a new anime season starts, I pick which shows I want to follow and introduce to J-List readers, doing my best to guess which ones will have “critical impact” with fans. I know from long experience that some shows that are popular in Japan, such as Sengoku Basara or The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, will be hard for non-Japanese to appreciate because we don’t have the background in Japanese history to appreciate them. On the flip side, of course, sometimes shows which are only mild hits inside Japan really resonate with fans around the world, such as the slice-of-life story about a university otaku club Genshiken. One interesting show in the current season is Bungou Stray Dogs, about a detective agency filled with ridiculously handsome guys who go around solving supernatural crimes. The gimmick is that the characters are based on famous writers from the golden age of modern Japanese literature, like Miyazawa Kenji (who wrote a lovely tale about a locomotive that travels between the stars), Edogawa Ranpo (a pioneer in 20th century Japanese mystery fiction, whose pen name is an homage to Edgar Allen Poe) and Akutagawa Ryunosuke (known as the father of the Japanese short story). It’s sort of like a sentai team made up of young “bishie” versions of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley and Henry David Thoreau. Maybe, in the same way Dagashi Kashi raised awareness of traditional Japanese sweets from the Showa Period, Bungou Stray Dogs will increase interest in Japanese literature.
As an American living in Japan, I’ve always been interested in the history of WWII, and before I started J-List in 1996, I worked as my city’s “Facilitator of Internationalization” (whatever that means), helping out foreigners who had trouble with life in Japan. During my time at city hall, I looked into the history of my new home during the war, investigating things like the final bombings at the end of the war (there was a Catholic church in Maebashi that was miraculously untouched after that city was bombed), or this really long, straight road in Ota that was locally famous because it was the former runway for a major airbase during the war. When I met my wife, I was surprised to find that her uncle had served in WWII on the Battleship Ise, and for years I would take my son over to his house on New Year’s Day and listen to his war stories. For example, he told me sailors would wear long fundoshi cloths as underwear, since if they found themselves overboard they could trail the cloth behind them, making themselves seem like a larger target to sharks. Today I read that the oldest Zero pilot from WWII, a Mr. Kaname Harada, has passed away at the age of 99, ending another bit of history.
Two of our favorite things are Japan and Star Wars, and we love it when they both meet! We’re having a “flash sale” on all Japan Star Wars products on the site, from the awesome Star Wars chopsticks to bento items and figures and fun snacks. Get 15% off all Star Wars items through thus Sunday!
